SFR Tour - La Clusaz

After taking a fun day off to be tourists around Marseille with a bunch of friends, it was time to head up to La Clusaz for the final stop of the SFR Tour. After a hectic day of travel, we arrived in town just moments before the first riders meeting. Got to catch up with a few of the buddies out there, and get settled in a bit to get ready for the next day.

View from the hotel in La Clusaz

First day of practice was pretty fun and mellow. This was the first day skiing of this year that I finally realized it was spring time, and as such were greeted with very warm weather. Although practice was fun, it was a very strange day for me because through a series of unfortunate events, I lost my boots, andhad to rent some for the day. Definitely one of the weirdest experiences to ski in rentals when you’ve been so used to your own boots.

The next day we had a bit of a later start and it was time for the qualifiers to begin. Thankfully to the help of Full Tilt and some SFR staff I was able to get my hands on a new pair of boots only a couple of hours before the contest. After making some small adjustments to make the boot more comfortable, I was able to finally ski in something that fit my foot.

Photo by: David Malacrida

When it was time for the contest I was happy to put 2 landed runs down. Unfortunately for me though I missed finals by one spot, and ended up finishing the contest in 15th place. This was the first final I haven’t made in a while, so I wasn’t the happiest, but I know I need to step up my skiing a bit. On the flip side I’m just happy to of landed two runs in new boots.

The following day Robby and I decided to leave La Clusaz early to go meet up with our friends Jeff Schmuck and Chelsea Kinnee in Austria. But before we left, we had to take at least one run down Le Balme in La Clusaz, which many skiers are familiar with for being Candide Thovex’s playground. Growing up I’ve seen so many movies with footage from this area, and to actually get a chance to ski it makes me respect and admire skiers like Candide even more.